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Documents detail hunt for Jackson evidence
Search warrants issued for bank records, film, diaries
By DAWN HOBBS
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Documents released Friday in the child molestation case against
Michael Jackson reveal that as recently as this month detectives
were asking for search warrants to look at bank records, unedited
film footage, photographs and diaries.
In documents released by Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville,
detectives state a witness directed them to a Woodland Hills storage
locker to look for those items and tapes that "would show a
relationship between Michael Jackson" and someone whose name
was deleted from the document.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff's detectives stated on the search
warrant affidavits that they developed leads from witnesses which
led to U.S. Bank account records and to a bank safe deposit box
in an undisclosed location.
The information in the affidavits provides a glimpse into the secretive
investigation. Judge Melville edited the documents to protect the
identity of witnesses and the alleged victim and to not prejudice
the jury pool. These are the most revealing documents released thus
far in the case.
In the affidavits, detectives stated they suspected the storage
locker and safe deposit box were being used to hide evidence in
the case against Mr. Jackson, who faces seven felony counts of lewd
conduct with a child under the age of 14 and two counts of giving
the child alcohol to commit child molestation.
The documents do not reveal what was found at the locations.
The release of these documents comes in response to the request
of media attorney Theodore Boutrous, who represents several news
organizations. Since the raid on Mr. Jackson's Neverland Valley
Ranch on Nov. 18, the media has fought to unseal search warrant
affidavits and lists of items seized during that search and on subsequent
raids at numerous homes and businesses of Jackson associates.
Also on Friday, Mr. Boutrous convinced Superior Court Judge Clifford
Anderson at an emergency hearing to consider loosening an order
prohibiting journalists from photographing or speaking with witnesses
who testify at a criminal grand jury hearing scheduled to start
Monday.
In a conference call, Michael Jackson's defense lawyer accused
Mr. Boutrous of attempting to get around a gag order issued in January
in order to "badger people who come out of the courthouse into
speaking with them."
Mr. Boutrous on Monday will submit a proposed media order and will
request the judge tell where the grand jury hearings will be held.
District Attorney Tom Sneddon plans to convene the hearing at various
undisclosed locations to protect the identity of witnesses, sources
have said. The judge's decision is expected Thursday.
"Time is of the essence in this case because every minute
that goes by is in violation of the First Amendment," Mr. Boutrous
said after the hearing. The heightened secrecy in this case, he
said, will result in the public suspecting the hearing is not being
properly conducted.
In one of the affidavits released Friday, Detectives Craig Bonner
and Paul Zellis, who received approval from a judge March 2 to search
the personal storage locker, referred to evidence seized in a prior
raid: "The videos contained mostly edited content, which seemed
to be chosen for its ability to shed positive light on Michael Jackson."
The detectives suspected unedited footage would be found in the
locker, the documents state.
Detectives indicate items may have been moved to the storage locker
to avoid being seized by law enforcement: "(Blank) felt law
enforcement was going to search his residence and (blank) provided
one of the witnesses with items belonging to (blank) and asked the
witness to place the items in a bank safe deposit box, which the
witness was directed to open under the witnesses' name."
Detectives indicated they wanted to look for notes, diaries, documents,
photographs, audio tapes, and video tapes, computer hard drives,
e-mails, correspondence and receipts believed to be stored there.
Another warrant approved Feb. 18 allowed detectives to search an
unnamed U.S. Bank branch for documents pertaining to a bank account,
including application forms, signature cards, and statements itemizing
deposits, withdrawals, transfers of money, and checks cashed against
the account. It is not known what was found there. A search warrant
approved March 4 netted 554 pages of unidentified documents.
Another one approved that day referenced the searches conducted
at the Neverland Valley Ranch, a Los Angeles County residence and
a private investigator's office in Beverly Hills, and then indicated,
"Investigators contacted numerous witnesses, who provided information
based on their personal knowledge and/or documentation. This information
has corroborated information derived from the victim in this investigation."
A document dated March 8 revealed evidence seized from an undisclosed
location included seven computer towers, a hard drive, computer,
Palmcorder, more than 70 CDs, seven DVDs, six Zip disks, a floppy
disk, a storage lease contract and documents pertaining to a rental.
On other evidence lists filed in February, detectives indicate
they have more than 1,000 pages of phone records from Verizon and
Verizon Wireless. The search conducted in January after the young
accuser's civil attorney, Larry Feldman, and the man who introduced
the alleged victim to Mr. Jackson, Jamie Masada, allegedly received
threatening phone calls because of their involvement in the case.
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